Apple reportedly hiring automotive engineers in China

A newly-discovered automotive job listing claims that Apple is seeking a supplier quality engineer with Chinese manufacturing experience, possibly revealing that the company is looking to extend iinto car-related products.

Citing a report from CarNewsChina.com, popular auto blog Jalopnik said on Thursday that Chinese head-hunting firm Allegis-BN is supposedly looking for a recruit to fill a position for an undisclosed Apple project.

The job posting was originally filed two weeks ago under the automotive section of LinkedIn and claims that the Cupertino, Calif., company is looking for a Supplier Quality Engineer/New Product Integration supervisor with experience in CNC/die casting/stamping/plastic injection."

From the original post:

Apple(China) Looking for SQE/NPI with over 4 years Mechanical engineering background familiar with CNC/die casting/stamping/plastic injection, can use APQP/ PPAP/SPC to control product quality.

While the job ad mentions Apple, it should be noted that Shanghai-based Allegis-BN does not include the iPhone maker as a customer on its client list webpage.

If the ad is legitimate, however, it wouldn't be the first time Apple has been rumored to be dabbling in the automotive space, as a 2007 report claimed that the computer giant was in talks with Volkswagen over building an Apple-integrated concept car.

Currently, Apple doesn't make any official car-centric products, though Daimler recently announced a Mercedes-Benz project that heavily integrates the iPhone in the car company's next generation "infotainment" system. The German car maker says that when the product debuts, it will mark the first time a car has the ability to interface with Apple's Siri voice-recognition software.

The Drive Kit Plus will make its debut in the A-class line and is expected to be included in the German company's B-, C- and E-Class cars by this fall.